Sweet and Sour
by moodyaura
Summary: One-shot. Stinky's sweet tooth has a hidden meaning. A meaning that Helga is befuddled to discover.


I decided to republish the Hey Arnold one shots I had separately instead. This is one of them.

002: _"You're as purdy as a speckled pup on Christmas mornin'."_

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"What is it with you and lemon pudding?" A blonde-haired girl propped her feet up onto her desk, tilting back on an angle in her chair. She placed her hands behind her head and looked at the boy across from her in nonchalance. Mr. Simmons, the sentimental sap that he was (or so Helga thought), had separated the class into pairs in a project. The white words written on the blackboard indicated each couples task: GET TO KNOW YOUR PARTNER, followed by a big exclamation point and a smiley face. The balding teacher decided on the partners depending on where they were sitting. The farther away they sit from each other, he must have reasoned, the less they know about each other. Unfortunately for Helga, that clearly excluded Arnold, who decided of all days to sit in front of her. _Criminey,_ Helga thought, scowling, _this really bites._

The presence of Stinky had its evident influence on her thoughts. Or maybe it was because he couldn't stop saying the line over and over again. That and how much he loved lemon pudding. Speaking of which…Helga raised a brow- or her brow, seeing as she only has one- at his hesitation. "Well, Stinko? I don't have all day you know." She glanced down at the sheet of paper on her desk, regarding it with dislike. It had a long list of suggestions for questions to ask your partner. The first one said to try asking about their likes. Putting one and one together, Helga came up with Stinky's biggest obsession ever: lemon pudding. As she waited for the boy to answer, her eyes trailed down the rest of the paper before coming to the last paragraph._This project will count for a LARGE portion of your grade, so do your best kids! Give me your final copy of the paper which should include everything I need to know about your partner. It is due on Monday. And remember, this is an IMPORTANT PROJECT. Have fun! _Helga narrowed her eyes. It was about time Mr. Simmons stopped being such a pushover. Although by large portion, Helga could only wonder how big it could be, considering the lenient attitude of her teacher.

Stinky, on the other hand, was just plain old nervous. It seemed to him that Helga had forgotten, but he remembered clearly what happened the day before. The angry little blonde had hired and fired, all in the same day, Stinky as her boyfriend. While he hadn't anticipated at the thought of being Helga's beau at first, later on he grew to like her more and more. A bit too much, perhaps. And worst of all was that Helga didn't have a single clue about his feelings._ It's on the account that I'm a big old coward, _Stinky thought miserably. But he couldn't hold in his newly found emotions any longer. He was bursting to tell her, but shrunk back every time she turned his attention back on him. Which was little, seeing how she was so occupied staring at the other partners.

"Well, Helga," Stinky started nervously. Helga diverted her attention from watching Lila and Arnold talk amongst themselves, loosening her grip on the paper she was twisting in her hands. With indifference, she waited for him to go on. "I reckon I like lemon pudding cause it taste so good and cause its yellow like your hair." She rolled her eyes as she turned to stare at the other couple again. How predictable of Stinky. _Yadda, yadda, taste so good, _she mocked in her head, _and yellow like my hai- WHAT?_ Helga swiveled back to the tall boy, placing her hands on her desk, eyeing him carefully.

Though she was thoroughly surprised and confused on the inside, Helga chose to cover it with a glare. "What," she said in a dangerous tone, "Did you say?" Stinky shuffled in his seat, regretting that he spoke his mind. Perhaps he should deny that he said anything and move on. The back of his mind ridiculed him at his apprehension. Vexed, something like determination took place in Stinky's heart as he spoke.

"I said, I like lemon pudding cause it reminds me of your hair." The blonde girl's face faltered from across the desk, her hands falling down to her sides. Stinky looked anxiously side to side. Now he was rather certain that he shouldn't have spoken anything at all. His mind stayed silent, agreeing. "And cause it taste good," he added quickly, or as quickly as he could with his slow, Southern drawl. He hoped the second statement would cover up his embarrassing, and honest, first one. Helga's mouth opened, gaping at him in disbelief.

She pointed an accusing finger at him. "All right, cowboy, did you eat too much lemon pudding this morning? What the heck are you trying to say?" At this point, Stinky knew he couldn't take anything back, even though he wanted to blurt out that it was all lies. And then maybe go home to cry a bit. He shifted uncomfortably in his seat. He might as well tell her the truth. Who knows? Maybe she'll like him back. At these hopeful thoughts, Stinky continued with his confession.

"I reckon what I'm trying to say is-," he gulped nervously, "Is that I don't like blueberries, but they remind me of your eyes. I don't like string cheese either, but it's long and thick like your unibrow." Scowling, Helga reached up and touched the hairy line below her forehead in self-consciousness. She oughta beat that sucker for saying something like that. Her unibrow wasn't_long _and **thick**…was it? "And I wouldn't eat any of those if I had to, but if you asked me to, I would," Stinky concluded. There was a light pink blush on his cheeks, marking his lucid embarrassment.

Helga jutted her head forward, making an awkward face to express her complete and utter confusion. "Wait, wait, wait- slow down," she said, holding her hands up, "Are you trying to say that…that you_ like_ me?" She could have laughed at this situation. For someone to have a crush on her was the most ridiculous thing she ever heard. She was just a mean, tough bully- that alone was hardly attractive. And it couldn't have possibly been those qualities that enticed her admirer.

The tall, lanky boy shrugged in his seat, scratching at the side of his head. "I reckon that's what I'm trying to say." At her blunt words, Stinky couldn't help but blush harder at the uneasy situation he brought himself into. He himself wasn't quite so sure how much he liked Helga, or if he even liked her at all. Maybe he just imagined it all. But he was sure that couldn't be it, or else he wouldn't have been thinking about her all day and her pink dress.

"As in, like me like me, or just like me?" Helga asked. She wanted to smack her forehead for sounding so much like Lila. She had a bit of compassion for the awkwardness that must have ensued when the redhead faced Arnold with the same predicament.

"Gawsh Helga, I reckon it's like you like you," Stinky admitted. Helga leaned back into her seat in bewilderment. This was unheard of. Fallacious. _Unreal._ However, she felt pity for the boy, seeing how he was stuck in the same, desperate situation she was in: unrequited love.

Painfully, she searched for a way to begin. Rejection was certainly no easy task, Helga realized. "Look, Stinky, that's…nice," she said. In a low undertone, she muttered, "Not really, but still…" Sighing, Helga pressed the bridge of her nose between her fingers, trying to suppress a migraine. Jabbing a finger in his direction, she took upon her usual demeanor. "Listen, bucko," she snapped, pointing the finger at Stinky's nose, "I don't know about you, but I would take a look at the expiration date of that lemon pudding of yours."

Stinky leaned back into his chair, nodding quickly. His heart skipped a beat as her finger made contact with his face. "I reckon I should, Helga," he said slowly. He made a note to check his fridge tonight. Helga scowled, and withdrew back into her seat. She resumed staring at Lila and Arnold as the rest of the project continued in silence.

I didn't realize there was an episode where Stinky actually liked Helga, so I guess this has to take place (for realistic measures) during "Helga's Boyfriend." I always thought Stinky's confessions would be long-winded and somewhat nonsensical, yet sweet. Oh, and that ever-so-amazing outfit Helga wore last chapter? That's up to your imagination.;)

Thanks so much to Hellerick Ferlibay, Zakuro Haruno, acosta perez jose ramiro, and Blonde Cecile for reviewing! Your comments made me so happy. I treasure them all so much... And Blonde Cecile, yes, I am (well now) fourteen. YAY! I feel so...old. Anyway, you guys rock!

Hope you liked it! Love ya and REVIEW!

-MoodyAura


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